World of Sport (WOS) recently held TV tapings at EPIC Studios in Norwich, England. The returning brand will be shown on one of the UK’s largest channels in ITV and the first episode of this second ‘reboot’ attempt is likely to air around July 21st.
One of the biggest pieces of news coming from the tapings include the announcement of new WOS General Manager Stu Bennett/Wade Barrett who recently stepped down from his role as the DEFIANT Wrestling GM, this move now sheds more light on that decision.
The following stars have also been contracted by ITV to feature on the new 10-part show: Will Ospreay, Davey boy Jr, Grado, Moose, Primate, Joe Hendry, Martin Kirby, Iestyn Rees, Viper, Kay Lee Ray, Bea Priestley, Sha Samuels, Doug Williams, Rampage Brown, Lionheart, Nathan Cruz, Kip Sabian, Robbie X, Adam Maxted, Gabriel Kidd, CJ Banks and Liam Slater.
According to live reports the action on the show is far superior to that of the original New Years Eve special from a few years ago. It was also noted that the show would be heavily focused on two names in particular; Will Ospreay and Davey Boy Jr who had the most anticipated and hyped bout during the tapings.
This past weekend, NWA President Billy Corgan made a surprise appearance at the All In press conference from Chicago at the Pro Wrestling Tees store.
Following Corgan’s announcement that the NWA would be involved with All in and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship would be defended at the show, Cody Rhodes approached the podium and announced he’d be the one challenging for the gold.
On Thursday, NWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis noted on Twitter that he hasn’t signed on the dotted line to face Cody at All In – and there are certain stipulations that must be met in order for him to do so. Like most, he’s after “money & respect.”
Aldis says he wants a match against The Young Bucks at the upcoming Ring Of Honor: Honor United show from Edinburgh, Scotland next week (5/24). Aldis is so confident in his abilities that he’ll let ROH management choose his partner.
If back-room @billy & @CodyRhodes want me to sign on the line for #ALLIN#TenPoundsOfGold several things need to happen. They involve money & respect. But let's start with this: I want a match with The Young Bucks at #HonorUnited Edinburgh. @ringofhonor can pick my partner.
The WWE’s Greatest Royal Rumble event was held last month in Saudi Arabia, and there’s a ton of controversy surrounding the involvement, or lack thereof, WWE’s female Superstars.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that none of the female Superstars have been paid for missing out on the show due to Saudi Arabia’s culture. It was noted that none of the female stars expect to be paid and they’ll be very surprised if they do.
WWE has been receiving a lot of negative feedback for agreeing to do a show in a country where the culture towards women is completely opposite of the Women’s Revolution WWE has been pushing recently.
WWE Co-President Michelle Wilson took to a recent earnings call to defend the company’s decision:
“I think everyone is familiar with the fact that we have obviously been very vocal about our female performers and re-branding them as Superstars,” Wilson said.
“We feel really good about our continued commitment on that front. There are many countries around the world where we perform and we’re respectful to the cultures there but we certainly hope to be a part of the change moving forward.
“We’re proud and happy with how the event went,” Wilson added. “And we will continue to treat those cultures respectfully while hoping to be a part of some of the change that will be taking place.”
Wrestling Observer Newsletter also notes that there is currently no news on the pay for WWE’s GRR event, because as of a few days ago it still hasn’t come in. Nobody reportedly knew about pay before the event except top WWE Superstars who were there for one-shot appearances.
Former WWE Superstar and current Ring Of Honor (ROH) star Tenille Dashwood (a.k.a. Emma) recently did an interview with TV Insider‘s Scott Fishman to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Dashwood first opened up on her current run with ROH and how she feels it’s going:
“I feel revived and alive again with wrestling. I started this because I love wrestling. Back when I was younger in Australia, I wanted to be a wrestler and loved what I did with WWE.
“It’s completely different now. It’s not five minutes on TV where I’m asked to do such and such. It’s having competitive singles matches every night. There are different opponents every night. I’m meeting new people and improving my own skills every time by working with different people in the ring. It got me going again.”
She also revealed that she got some advice from fellow former WWE star Cody Rhodes recently:
“We talked about how to go about things and make sure I enjoy it and taking advantage of the opportunities I have now. Just to do the things I haven’t been able to do in years.
With WWE you don’t always get to do things the way you like to do them, so now he said to remember that I’m in control and can do things my way. To be doing things for a reason and to wrestle around the world. And not to do it for job, but to do it because you love and enjoy it and travel and meet people and wrestle. It was to remember all that.”
In regards to what’s going on in WWE, Dashwood offered her thoughts on The IIconics making their main roster debut on SmackDown Live:
“I kind of knew it was coming, but I told them not to tell me if it’s happening because I wanted to be in the moment. I called Peyton out. I called her a liar. I said, ‘You’re not at home right now.’ She was like, ‘Oops you got me.’ I said, ‘No, don’t tell me!’ I have been friends with those girls for years.
“I just talked to the girls yesterday. They are on the European tour right now. We always catch up. We stay in contact. They come over my house, and we go into the hot tub. We’re good friends. I’m so excited for them. Seeing them really warms my heart doing what they love. I know what it feels like to have those big moments and that feeling. So, I’m happy for them.”
You can read Dashwood’s full interview with TV Insider by clicking this link here.
Former WWE Cruiserweight Champion Rich Swann was released from WWE back in February for a domestic abuse incident that occurred with his wife. Since then, Swann and his wife have reconciled and he has begun working for IMPACT Wrestling.
PWInsider Elite’s Mike Johnson recently discussed the possibility of WWE bringing back Swann, and said he believes the company could bring him back at some point:
“I think WWE will bring him back at some point. Whenever somebody gets in trouble, WWE has them serve their penance and then they eventually get brought back into the fold. I think that is the process that Rich Swann is in right now. He’s working for Impact but he’s not signing a 5-year contract.”
H/T Ringside News for the transcriptions
Batista Praises Titus O’Neil
WWE Superstar Titus O’Neil took to Twitter to celebrate staying in shape at the age of 41. He’s nearing his goal of cutting down to 270 pounds, as he currently weighs 284. His good friend and former WWE Superstar, Batista, responded to O’Neil’s Tweet and praised him for his hard work:
284lbs now 6weeks from today I’ll be ready for a Lifelong Goal 2be reached&I’m excited about the process to go down to a Leaner 41 year old 270lb @Marvel Character ?? Has nothing to do with @WWE but everything to do with being a Blessed Man! @DaveBautista I’ll see you soon ? pic.twitter.com/zdeuhaQ7GK
WWE stock prices climbed to an all-time high after word about a pending television rights deal was revealed on Wednesday.
Stock prices for WWE climbed a whopping 17-percent with shares valued at $51 each and a total valuation on the professional wrestling company sitting at approximately $3.9 billion overall.
With that kind of expected windfall, WWE stock prices went up dramatically and now sit 150-percent higher than this time last year when the company was trading at $19.66 per share. To put that in different terms, a $10,000 investment in WWE last year at this time would now be worth $25,000.
The biggest previous surge for stock prices with WWE came back in 2014 when the company was prepared to ink a deal for its last television deal. Unfortunately at that time, the stock prices proved to be rather erratic as WWE was preparing to launch the WWE Network.
At the time, WWE was moving all of their pay-per-view cards to the network, which would seemingly eliminate a huge source of income. Over time, however, WWE Network has proven to be a big winner for the company with subscriber numbers continuing to climb with each passing year.
The total valuation of WWE at $3.9 billion also puts the company in the same neighborhood as the UFC enjoyed back in 2016 just before selling to a conglomerate led by Endeavor, which ultimately purchased the mixed martial arts promotion for just over $4 billion.
There has been speculation that with WWE stock prices at an all time high that perhaps this could be the best possible time for WWE CEO Vince McMahon and his family to cash out with a potential sell to a network such as FOX or even Disney. FOX actually tried to buy the UFC back in 2016 but they were ultimately out bid by Endeavor.
McMahon sold off a portion of his own stock last year as he prepared to re-launch the XFL football league but there’s still no word if he would be willing to cash out completely and sell WWE to a new owner.
For now, investors will enjoy the surge in stock prices from this latest stock jump as WWE is now valued higher than ever before.
Do you think the McMahon’s will ever cash out and sell WWE or will this continue to be a family business for years to come?
For the past several months, it’s been rumored that WWE will be running a stadium show in Australia later this year. WWE has yet to acknowledge plans for the down-under mega event, but prominent Melbourne sports media figure Craig Hutchinson says the show is happening on October 6th from MCG Stadium. The venue has a capacity of over 100,000 people.
WWE 2K19
On Wednesday, WWE made the first official announcement about WWE 2K19, the next installment of the company’s annual video game franchise.
Last year’s game was released in mid-October for PS4 & Xbox One, with the Nintendo Switch version arriving in December.
We’re pleased to announce that the next entry in the @WWEgames franchise, #WWE2K19, is scheduled to release this fall. More details to come at a later date. #adpic.twitter.com/qrOWQ1IFVg
WWE Hall of Famer “Mean” Gene Okerlund is featured in a new Mountain Dew commercial with comedian Kevin Hart. The 75-year-old broadcasting legend is depicted in familiar surroundings – conducting a backstage interview with a screaming ‘wrestler.’
There have been some rumors going around suggesting that former WWE and World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton is injured or has backstage heat – being the reason why he missed WWE’s European Tour.
This is not true. Wrestling Observer Newsletter‘s Dave Meltzer reports that Orton missed the tour because he was not contractually obligated to attend. The Viper’s current WWE deal allows him to work a lighter tour schedule, thus he was able to hang back state-side and spend time with his family.
Orton does not have any backstage heat and has no injuries as of this writing. At this point in his career, he simply worked out a deal that would limit the amount of overseas traveling he has to do in order to be able to spend more time back home with his wife and kids.
Randy, son of WWE Hall Of Famer “Cowboy” Bob Orton, has been with WWE for almost 20 years. It’s safe to say he’s earned some say-so in how many tour dates he works.
Ring Of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling stars The Young Bucks recently appeared on Sean Waltman’s X-Pac 1,2,360 podcast to discuss their upcoming “All In” event. During the show, The Young Bucks discussed not only selling out a wrestling show will “All In,” but also selling out a party.
All In: Wrestling Show Party
Nick: “We have such passionate fans and we wanted to give back to our fans in a way, to make something special for one night.”
Matt: “It’s been very strategic too, how we were going to roll out the whole plan… We knew that we couldn’t just sell a wrestling event. You have to sell more than a wrestling event, you have to sell a feeling, you have to sell a movement. To make them {Fans} feel something like ‘hey this is for you’.
“Because right now is the best professional wrestling that there has ever been. Everybody can work, some of the best matches you’ll ever see… You’ve got to give the people something more than that you know what I mean? And I feel like they agreed with it, they felt it. They wanted to be apart of it. This movement, this change, you know? We wanted to show them, hey this is something new, fresh, and organic.
“It’s an alternative and it may be only celebrated one-time so let’s party. And that’s what we’re selling we’re selling a party and everyone wants to party with us and we’re glad they’re on board.”
Paul Heyman Congratulating Them
Advocate for WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman, recently Tweeted out and praised Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks for selling out the Sears Centre in Chicago for their self-funded event. Nick and Matt were blown away by the sentiment:
Nick: “Almost everyone I’ve looked up to has reached out in a way. That blows my mind because it’s so cool to see some of the guys I grew up praising, praising us now its’ so weird.”
Matt: “For me, I think the Heyman one was really big because it feels like what he did with ECW was kind of a revolutionary new style of wrestling and he changed the wrestling business forever you know what I mean.
“And for him to say that about us I feel like he’s one of the greatest promoters of all time and that’s what we essentially are now… So just to hear from a guy who always has his finger on the pulse of what’s cool in wrestling to give it up to us like that when he didn’t have to was really really cool of him.”
Which WWE Talent They’d Like To Use At All In
The Young Bucks also listed off some WWE names that they wish could be involved in the event if they weren’t under contract with the professional wrestling juggernaut:
Nick: “Oh man that’s a hard one. I’d have to use at least a few AJ Styles and Kevin [Owens}, the first two as well as a Sami Zayn. I’d like to use a lot of the guys though.”
Matt: “Man, Nick kinda stole my answers but I feel like giving a team who hasn’t really got called up, haven’t really had a fair shake, I’d love to have The Revival on the show and do The Young Bucks vs The Revival. That’d be my match probably.”
A lot of fans think that WWE should turn former World Champion Roman Reigns heel and Stone Cold Steve Austin is one of the people who believe the same.
During a recent interview with The Express in middle of the company’s ongoing UK tour, the Big Dog talked about the upcoming Money In The Bank PPV and also responded to Austin’s comment about how he should turn heel which Steve made on his podcast.
Roman said that everybody has their opinion comparing it to people having their favorite flavor of ice cream but claimed that Steve Austin knows the territory he is in.
Continuing on the topic, the former Shield Member said that there is a lot of truth in what the Texas Rattle Snake has to say but went on to explain that he can’t guarantee a heel turn:
“So I think there’s definitely a lot of truth in what he has to say and I value his opinion. Is it going to happen? I can’t guarantee that. It’s one of those situations where you kind of got to take it week by week and just understand the role”
Apart from this, Roman Reigns also talked about how John Cena has been in his shoes before and claimed that he is in a good place to do whatever he needs to do with his character without necessarily being a heel or babyface.
Enzo Amore revealed on Twitter recently that no charges will be filed against him and the investigation of sexual assault allegations has been closed.
The statement he posted also revealed that the former WWE Star will be returning to the Entertainment Industry and since then people have been discussing if Impact Wrestling could be his next destination.
During a recent media call, Impact’s co-executive vice president Don Callis was asked about the former WWE Cruiserweight Champion possibly joining their company.
Replying to it, the Impact Official claimed that talents are evaluated based on needs and what they are looking to do and said that you should never say never:
“Never say never. You evaluate talent based on need and what you’re looking to do. We have a long term plan for how we engage with talent in terms of who’s gonna be on the roster, what roster spots we need filled, etcetera. So you know… as with any other talent, I think time will tell.”
While this answer hardly reveals whether the company has any interest in Enzo or not, the statement does not end any possibilities either.
So while it may not happen in the foreseeable future, there is a chance that Enzo Amore will end up working for the company formerly known as TNA somewhere down the line.
Discussion: Do you think Impact should also hire Enzo after hiring another former Cruiserweight Champion Rich Swann? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.
Impact Wrestling is back with another taped show tonight. The company will hold the 3rd set of tapings under the new regime on June 1st and 2nd in Windsor, On, Canada.
Impact Wrestling Preview (5/17/18)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8l_FI1Ggq4
Street Fight Hosted by House of Hardcore Eddie Edwards vs Sami Callihan
Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore promotion will host this street fight between the two rivals.
Callihan has driven Edwards to the brink by stalking his wife in the hospital. Edwards then convinced Impact management not to fire Callihan so that he can get his revenge.
It’s not clear if this will be the blow-off to the feud or if this angle will continue building to Slammiversary on July 22nd. We will probably find out tonight.
Matt Sydal & Austin Aries vs Fantasma & Pentagon Jr.
It’s the X-Division champion (Sydal) teaming up with the Impact Grand Champion (Aries) to take on the #1 contender to the X-Division title (Fantasma) and the Impact World Champion (Pentagon Jr.).
Don Callis revealed yesterday during his state of Impact address that Aries vs Pentagon will happen on the May 31st episode. This might not have been announced on Impact yet, however.
Fantasma vs Matt Sydal will be the next X-Division title match after Fantasma won a fatal 4-way match last week.
Kiera Hogan vs Tessa Blanchard
This has been building for the last few weeks.
Blanchard appeared on commentary during Hogan’s match at the Redemption pay-per-view. Hogan seemed to indicate she was upset with Blanchard for stealing her moment.
Blanchard is coming into Impact Wrestling confident, claiming she’s the hottest free agent the company could’ve signed. Tonight we should find out how quick her rise to the top of the Knockouts division will be.
Impact Wrestling Tag Team Championships Eli Drake and Scott Steiner (c) vs Z&E
DJZ and Andrew Everett defeated former champions, LAX, last week. The win likely earned them the shot at Steiner and Drake tonight.
Meanwhile, LAX seems to be falling apart without Konnan or Homicide.
Su Yung’s Funeral for Rosemary
Two weeks ago on Impact, Yung and her army of undead brides locked Rosemary in a coffin.
Last week, we saw a segment where Allie received an ominous note from a charred stuffed bunny. The note was likely an invitation to Rosemary’s funeral, which will take place tonight.
Also booked for the show:
The return of Madison Rayne.
Brian Cage’s world tour continues. This time the Machine stops in Canada.
Did an online mob-mentality unfairly rip apart the legacy of the Fabulous Moolah? There are a growing number of people in the industry who believe that is exactly what happened.
Earlier this year, WWE announced they were naming the women’s battle royal at WrestleMania after the Fabulous Moolah. This led to the resurfacing of allegations against Moolah for exploiting (both financially and sexually) her female students. In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer details the discussion had at the latest Cauliflower Alley Club reunion regarding Moolah and her legacy.
In Defense of the Fabulous Moolah
The most serious allegations against Moolah are the charges she “pimped out” her female wrestling students. Wrestlers Luna Vachon and Mad Maxine are the two wrestlers most associated with these allegations. Meltzer recounted a discussion he had with Vachon on the matter before her passing, however.
“Her (Luna Vachon) actual claim later was that she was sent to a guy who paid her for a photo shoot, and other women said the same thing, but they said there was so sex involved, just a photo shoot.”
There were also the claims by wrestler Sweet Georgia Brown. She claimed she was raped and drugged while training to be a wrestler with Moolah. Georgia Brown’s son, however, spoke out against these claims in a video intended to help repair Moolah’s legacy.
Other allegations involve Moolah taking a high-percentage of her wrestlers’ earnings. She is generally believed to have earned 25% of her wrestler’s booking fees. This was then compared favorably to other promoters, such as Lord Littlebrook. In general, it seems to be agreed Moolah took a high-percentage but all her students were aware of the deal before they agreed to it.
Meltzer’s report notes the following names were in attendance for the discussion: Despina Montaguas, Vicki Tosi (Princess Victoria), Beverly Shade, Joyce Grable, Judy Martin, Peggy Lee Leather, Malia Hosaka, Sandy Parker, Debbie Combs, and Ramona Isbell.
The general consensus in the room as reported in the Observer is that Moolah’s name should not have been removed from the Battle Royal. Furthermore, many felt that WWE should apologize for having done so.
Was the Fabulous Moolah’s Legacy Unfairly Convicted by Social Meda? Tell us what you think below!
New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament kicks off tomorrow from Korakuen Hall. The tournament will run until June 4th, when the final night will once again be held in Korakuen Hall.
Tomorrow’s main event will feature the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, Will Ospreay, take on Taiji Ishimori.
Best of the Super Juniors Night 1 Lineup
Shota Umino & Kushida vs Ren Narita & Chris Sabin
Tomoyuki Oka & Dragon Lee vs Yoshi-Hashi & Sho
Ryusuke Taguchi & Toa Henare vs El Desperado & Minoru Suzuki
Hiromu Takahashi & Evil vs Marty Scurll & Chase Owens
BOSJ 25 A Block
Tiger Mask vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru
BOSJ 25 A Block
ACH vs Flip Gordon
BOSJ 25 A Block
Yoh vs Flip Gordon
BOSJ 25 A Block
Will Ospreay vs Taiji Ishimori
Night 2 of the tournament runs on Saturday and will feature wrestlers from the B Block.
Best of the Super Juniors 25 Night 2 Lineup
Night 2 of the tournament will see Marty Scurll and Hiromu Takahashi in the main event.
Shota Umino vs Ren Narita
Tomoyuki Oka, Tiger Mask, and ACH vs Yoshi-Hashi, Yoh, and Will Ospreay
Toa Henare & Flip Gordon vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Minoru Suzuki
Bushi & Sanada vs Taiji Ishimori & Chase Owens
BOSJ 25 B Block
Dragon Lee vs Sho
BOSJ 25 A Block
Ryusuke Taguchi vs El Desperado
BOSJ 25 A Block
Kushida vs Chris Sabin
BOSJ 25 A Block Hiromu Takahashi vs Marty Scurll
There are several possible stories to develop out of this year’s tournament. Kushida has won two of the last three tournaments with only two other wrestlers in history having won the tournament three times.
Current IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, Will Ospreay, won the tournament in 2016. Kushida and Ospreay are set up in different blocks this year and could meet in the finals again this year as they did in 2017.
Tell us who you think will win the 25th edition of the Best of the Super Juniors Tournament:
This week’s episode of Raw saw Braun Strowman teaming up with Finn Balor to face the team of Dolph Ziggler and the former NXT Champion Drew McIntyre.
However while most of the match on the show played out as it was drafted, it appears that one of the spots during the bout did not go as planned.
According to PWinsider, the moment where the Greatest Royal Rumble trophy broke after Strowman accidentally slammed Drew through it, was not scripted.
No word yet on if there is any heat on any of these men for the incident but since it was just an accident, it’s possible that Officials have already forgotten it.
Austin Aries Congratulates Ex On SmackDown Debut
As seen on SmackDown Live this week, former NXT Champion Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas made his main roster debut along with her manager Zelina Vega.
Almas defeated a local talent upon his arrival on the Blue Branded Show and Zelina then went on to cut a promo, warning the SmackDown Locker room.
After the show, former WWE Star Austin Aries posted a tweet in which he congratulated Vega on her SmackDown debut.
In the tweet, as seen below A Double revealed that the two are no longer a couple but said that he knows the effort she has put into making this dream a reality:
Congrats to my ex-girlfriend @Zelina_VegaWWE on her #SmackDownLive debut. I know firsthand all the time, effort, and sacrifice that went into making this special dream a reality.
New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced the signing of the company’s first ever non-Japanese President. Dutch businessperson, Harold Meij, is the former Vice President of Coca-Cola Japan. He was born in the Netherlands but spent his childhood in Japan and is fluent in the language.
Meij recently took part in an interview with Japanese language media outlet, Nikkei.com. Noted NJPW author, Chris Charlton, provided some translated quotes from the article.
Google translate offered more insight into Meij’s comments. While the overall essence of his comments is captured by Google Translate, the translation is not perfect:
“The quality of New Japan Wrestling exceeds the world’s largest professional wrestling organization” WWE “. It is high and has drama nature, the athletes are all handsome, they have many charms to stick to various sexes and age groups such as longing to strength and muscular fetish, etc. That is, there are goods, There is still insufficient publicity and accessibility to arouse. “
It should be noted that despite the above comments by Mr. Meij, Toru Yano is still not very handsome at all.
“We have already mobilized about 400,000 people a year at 150 times a year. Ticket income accounts for 50% of sales, but there are limits to the number of players and the convenience of the venue. Movie distribution, advertisement etc. Advertisement of monthly fee video distribution “New Japan Pro Wrestling World” has about 100,000 members, but WWE’s video distribution has 1.5 million members worldwide. “
New Japan World subscriber numbers have remained stagnant at approximately 100,000. Meij seems to be indicating the company is too reliant on ticket sales as a source of revenue and need to diversify how they monetize their product.
New Japan Pro Wrestling is just about to move into the 25th edition of the Best of the Super Juniors tournament. The tournament gets underway tomorrow from Korakuen Hall.
Not many people can do what Chris Jericho does as the former World Champion not only balances between his Wrestling and Music career but he also finds time for his other projects such as his podcast.
Though it appears that juggling so many roles doesn’t bother the former World Champion much as he has added another regular gig to his work list.
Sirius XM recently sent out a press release, revealing that Chris will be hosting a new hard rock radio show on their Octane channel once every month. Below is an excerpt from the release which features details about the new show dubbed as ‘The Rock Of Jericho’:
“The Rock Of Jericho features a curated hour playlist of Jericho’s favorite hard rock and heavy metal songs. Each show, the iconic wrestler will have special guests, will introduce you to new hard rock and will expose some deep album cuts while also jammin’ the classics! You never know what he’s going to play next!”
“The show debuts 6 pm ET Friday, May 18 before becoming available On Demand!”
Handicap Match And More Announced For NXT Next Week
WWE has announced two matches for next week’s episode of NXT. The first match is between Heavy Machinery and TM61 and it was made official after Otis Dozovic issued a challenge during this week’s show.
Also after Lars Sullivan attacked both The Velveteen Dream and Ricochet during their singles match, it was revealed that Lars will face both these stars in a handicap match next week:
It’s no secret that WWE received a large sum for hosting the Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia and according to reports the company paid a good bonus to everybody involved in the show.
And from the sound of it, it appears that the former World Champion Chris Jericho also made a good amount of money for his short appearance during the event.
Jericho was recently interviewed by Mirror.co.uk, where he talked about his highly praised match with Kenny Omega, juggling between his wrestling and music gigs and more.
While talking about the Greatest Royal Rumble, the former Champion hinted that he was paid a good amount for his appearance during the 50-Men Battle Royal:
“It was a long trip for a short period of time – I think I was in the Rumble match for four minutes or something like that. I know they must have been paid a whole lot of money, just by proxy of what I was paid ha ha. I was like ‘oh my gosh, really, you’re going to pay me that to do this? How much are you guys making? “
Chris Jericho entered the Greatest Royal Rumble as the 50th entrance of the bout and he eliminated Shelton Benjamin before being eliminated by the eventual winner Braun Strowman.
Though his appearance on the event was not free from controversy as he was first added in the Casket Match against the Undertaker on the show but was later removed from the bout.
The reason for his removal given to Jericho was that a Saudi Prince had asked for Rusev to be added back into the bout but these reports are not very believable.
While Ronda Rousey made her WWE debut on the biggest stage possible at WrestleMania 34 last month, it appears that the former UFC Star is still getting used to the WWE customs.
Standing on the turnbuckle and waving at the crowd or posing for the photos is a regular move for any WWE Star and it usually comes after they have won a match.
However, reacting to her first house show match in WWE as seen in the video below, Ronda revealed that she didn’t know how to do this and the house show in Geneva was the first time she stood up on the turnbuckle for a pose:
For those who don’t know Ronda Rousey made her WWE House Show debut last night while wrestling in a Raw Brand Live Event from Geneva.
Though while she was originally announced to face Mickie James in a one on one match, the former UFC Star ended up competing in a 6 Women Tag match instead.
She teamed up with Natalya and Ember Moon to face the trio of Mickie James, Liv Morgan, and Ruby Riott. The match was won by Rousey and her team when she made James tap out to an arm bar.
As noted before, Ronda Rousey is scheduled to work a number of more Live events in near future and she is also expected to wrestle at an upcoming Raw episode.
After this and the announcement that she will be challenging for the Raw Women’s Championship, many believe that Ronda will be wrestling more frequently in upcoming times and she may start competing regularly on Television soon.
Ronda Rousey is currently set to challenge Nia Jax for the Raw Women’s Championship at Money In The Bank on June 17th.
Tommaso Ciampa came out to Johnny Gargano’s music to start off this week’s episode of NXT. The crowd booed in anger as Ciampa waved on the entrance ramp. Ciampa said that everyone keeps saying that Gargano won and he beat me. Ciampa claimed that Gargano may have won the battle, but he will always win the war. He added that is why he is here and Gargano is at home in a neck brace that he put him in.
The crowd chanted “you suck!” as Ciampa entered the ring. He stated that he has broken Gargano’s heart, mind, spirit and his body. Ciampa stated that Gargano is gone and that he wins. The crowd chanted “you tapped out!” and then Candice LeRae came down to the ring as the crowd chanted “Candice Wrestling!”.
LeRae said that just used to think she knew Tommaso, but doesn’t recognize what he has become. Candice stated that she couldn’t understand why Ciampa was so obsessed with ruining their lives and said that the only thing that was broken here was Ciampa. Candice added that she is done shedding tears for Ciampa and that he is a monster that she will never forgive.
Candice said that her husband’s future is uncertain, Ciampa will know that Johnny Gargano was better than him. The crowd then chanted “Johnny’s better!” as Ciampa shook his head out of anger in the ring. Ciampa said maybe that he was better than, but Candice knows that the boy she calls a husband isn’t half the man that he is. That is why he sent his cute blonde wife out here, instead of coming down to the ring himself and confronting him. Ciampa added that Candice has always been more of a man than Gargano.
The crowd chanted “mess him up Candice!” and Ciampa dared her to mess him up. Tommaso claimed that he was thinking at their wedding how on earth could this woman possibly be marrying such a big…
Ciampa was interrupted by a slap to the face by Candice. Ciampa smirked and waved at Candice before rolling out of the ring. LeRae exited the ring as Ciampa said “I win!” outside the ring. The crowd once again chanted “you suck!” as Ciampa made his way to the back.
Lacey Evans Dominated & Kairi Sane Got Some Revenge
Photo Credit: @WWENXT on Twitter
Brandi Lauren faced Lacey Evans tonight on NXT. Evans quickly took control of the match and stomped on Lauren in the corner. Evans followed it up with a Bronco Buster and then stood on Lauren’s neck. Evans hopped to the ring apron and connected with a slingshot Elbow Drop. Lacey casually walked over Brandi and climbed up to the second rope. Evans then connected with a great Moonsault and hit the Women’s Right for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Kairi Sane attacked Evans on the ring apron and hit a flying forearm to the face. Sane brought Evans down to the ring and scaled to the top turnbuckle. Kairi set up for the Insane Elbow, but Lacey rolled out of the ring and retreated up the entrance ramp.
Dakota Kai was interviewed at the WWE Performance Center. Nikki Cross showed up with a cell phone and asked when Kai was going to face Shayna Baszler for the NXT Women’s Championship. Cross grabbed Kai by the hair and shouted “face your fear and fight!”. Cross then laughed in Kai’s face before walking away.
Ricochet battled Velveteen Dream tonight on NXT. The two Superstars locked up to start off the match. Dream dragged Ricochet to the canvas and danced while doing so. Ricochet hopped up and knocked Dream to the mat and danced as well. Dream applied a Headlock and brought Dream to the mat. Ricochet countered but Dream quickly got him back in the Headlock.
Ricochet escaped and elbowed Dream in the back of the head. Ricochet applied a Headlock of his own, but Dream threw Ricochet to the ropes. Dream and Ricochet had an awesome of exchange that ended with Dream throwing Ricochet out of the ring. Ricochet battled back and hit a Dropkick that sent Dream to the floor. Ricochoet backflipped to the center of the ring as Dream slithered into the ring at the same time.
The two Superstars had a brief stare down before Dream sent Ricochet to the corner. The two then ran into each other and both Superstars fell down. Ricochet threw Dream to the corner and started throwing some punches. Lars Sullivan attacked both Ricochet and Dream and the match ended in a DQ. Sullivan planted them both with the Freak Accident and then stood tall in the ring as the crowd booed. Sullivan shouted that he will be the new NXT Champion and raised his fists in the ring as his theme hit.
Later on the show, Dream and Ricochet were shown by NXT GM William Regal’s office. They both said they wanted Lars Sullivan and entered Regal’s office. It was announced before the main event that Dream & Ricochet will face Lars Sullivan in a Handicap Match next week.
Kona Reeves faced Raul Mendoza tonight on NXT. Reeves handed his jacket off to an employee and told him to not scuff his jacket. The crowd chanted “Kona sucks!” as Reeves shouted that he is the finest. Reeves started off the match in control and worked on Raul’s right arm.
Mendoza battled back with an elbow to the face, but Reeves quickly applied a Headlock. Mendoza broke free but was knocked on his ass by a massive shoulder tackle by Reeves. Kona bounced Raul’s face off the turnbuckle and unloaded a few giant stomps on his midsection in the corner.
Reeves connected with a Suplex and then dropped a fist to the face. Kona followed it up with a reverse Elbow Drop off the second rope and then followed it up with another elbow to the face. Reeves dragged Raul’s face on the canvas and then locked in the Cobra Clutch in the middle of the ring. Mendoza countered into a Jawbreaker and then hit a boot to the face.
Raul connected with an Enziguri that knocked Reeves to the corner. Mendoza hit a flying forearm and hopped to the ring apron. Mendoza leaped off the top rope but got a boot to the face for his troubles. Reeves shouted “that’s why I am the finest” and connected with the Hawaiian Drop for the pinfall victory.
Pete Dunne, Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch Defeated Undisputed Era
Photo Credit: @WWENXT on TwitterDanny Burch, Oney Lorcan & Pete Dunne faced Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong) in tonight’s main event.
Dunne and Strong started off the match, but Strong immediately tagged Kyle O’Reilly and exited the ring. Danny Burch tagged in and locked up with O’Reilly. Kyle locked in a Knee Bar but Burch quickly grabbed the bottom rope to break the hold. The two Superstars locked up again and Burch applied a Headlock and dragged O’Reilly to the canvas.
O’Reilly escaped and Burch told him to bring it on. O’Reilly stayed on the mat and dared Burch to come down to him. O’Reilly booted Burch in the back of the leg and then Adam Cole tagged in. Cole knocked Burch to the canvas and called him a joke. Cole connected with an elbow to the face and followed it up with a knee to the midsection. Cole shouted “is that all you got?” as he stomped on Burch in the corner.
O’Reilly tagged back in and connected with a few knee strikes for a two count. Strong tagged in and hit a Backbreaker for another two count. Strong taunted Dunne and then stomped on Burch’s left arm. Strong once again taunted Dunne and then Burch backed into the corner and Dunne tagged in.
Pete Dunne unloaded with a few jabs to Strong and applied a Hammerlock and took Strong down to the mat. Dunne bent back Strong’s fingers as Roddy screamed in pain. Chaos broke out as everyone ran into the ring. Burch, Lorcan and Dunne then bent back Cole, O’Reilly and Strong’s fingers. Undisputed Era rolled out of the ring to regroup.
Strong capitalized on Cole and O’Reilly distracting Dunne by attacking him in the corner. Cole tagged in and stomped on Dunne before O’Reilly tagged back in. O’Reilly connected with a few boots to the ribs before Strong got back into the match. Strong applied the Coba Clutch in the middle of the ring.
Dunne battled back to his feet but Strong connected with a Neckbreaker for a two count. Strong hit a Dropkick to the back and then tagged Adam Cole back into the match. Cole kneed Dunne in the back a few times and then clubbed him across the face. Cole booted Dunne in the face and dragged him back to the corner.
O’Reilly tagged in and started working on Dunne’s arm. Kyle followed it up with a sliding knee to the ribs and tagged Strong back in. Strong applied an Arm Bar as Lorcan and Burch pleaded for a tag in the corner. Dunne battled out of the corner with a series of forearms. Dunne leaped across the ring to tag in Oney Lorcan.
Oney unloaded a bunch of chops to Undisputed Era. Lorcan blasted O’Reilly with an uppercut and then planted Strong with a Suplex. Lorcan hit Cole with a Blockbuster and tagged Burch back in. Lorcan flipped on Cole outside the ring as Burch leveled Strong with a Clothesline for a two count.
Dunne hit a massive right hand to Cole that knocked him back out of the ring. Strong threw Lorcan into Dunne that knocked him out of the ring. Strong then hit a Backbreaker to Burch and tagged O’Reilly in. Kyle hit a boot to the face for a two count. Burch connected with a right hand and then threw Cole and Strong out of the ring. Burch then locked in the Crossface in the middle of the ring. Lorcan applied the single-legged Crab to Strong. Dunne got Cole in a Wrist Lock, but Strong booted Lorcan into Dunne, who then fell onto Burch to break up the Crossface.
Dunne Suplexed Cole to the outside, but Adam somehow hit a Neckbreaker to Dunne onto the top rope and both Superstars fell out of the ring. Lorcan planted Strong and Lorcan with a double Blockbuster. Danny Burch then planted O’Reilly with a DDT as Lorcan held him up for the pinfall victory. Dunne, Burch and Lorcan then celebrated in the ring after their victory. This match was outstanding.
WWE ‘Smackdown Live’ may have a new television home in the very near future.
According to a report from the Hollywood Reporter, NBCUniversal — the owner of the USA Network — is making a significant offer to WWE to keep ‘Raw’ on their network but plan on letting ‘Smackdown Live’ go to another bidder.
NBCUniverse is expected to pay around three times what they are currently dishing out to WWE to keep Raw on the USA Network on Monday nights where it’s not only one of the longest running episodic show in television history but also still a ratings juggernaut from week to week on the network.
As of now, FOX appears to be leading the bidding war to land ‘Smackdown Live’ as the network has long coveted the WWE as a potential partner for the future. Just recently, FOX sold off the majority of their assets to Disney with the focus at the network then shifting to around 80-percent live programming.
FOX landed a deal NFL Thursday Night Football just recently and the addition of ‘Smackdown Live’ would give the network a potent one-two punch for live programming during the week.
‘Smackdown Live’ boasts the sixth biggest audience amongst cable originals and will likely fetch a high asking price of its own now that its expected to hit the open market with NBC bowing out of the bidding.
As for NBC, the network has also been interested in potentially obtaining the remaining television rights to the UFC after the mixed martial arts promotion just recently signed a $750 million deal with ESPN for 15 live cards a year to air on ESPN+. NBC nearly landed the UFC back in 2011 before FOX swooped in with an offer at the 11th hour to become the exclusive home to the world’s biggest mixed martial arts promotion.
Whether or not NBC’s potential interest in the UFC had anything to do with only keeping one of the WWE properties rather than both is unknown at this time.
For now, ‘Smackdown Live’ will begin looking for suitors who are interested in teaming up with WWE with the deal reportedly kicking off in September.
Former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey has worked her first WWE live event.
On Wednesday, the sports entertainment company held a RAW live event in Geneva, Switzerland at the SEG Geneva Arena that featured Rousey making her live event debut.
Fans in attendance noted that she teamed up with Natalya and Ember Moon to take on the team of Mickie James, Liv Morgan and Ruby Riott.
The finish of the match saw Rousey take down James then applied the armbar for the quick submission.
Originally, Rousey was slated to wrestle Mickie James in a singles match on this tour. However, WWE changed plans and it appears that she will be working six-woman tag team matches going forward.
She is advertised for the following dates for this ongoing UK tour: May 17th in Vienna, Austria on May 18th in Turin, Italy, and on May 19th in Paris, France.
Rousey is slated to challenge Nia Jax for the RAW Women’s Title at the upcoming Money in the Bank pay-per-view event.
Revolution Pro Wrestling (Rev Pro) have announced two more names for the upcoming Strong Style Evolved UK events taking place on June 30th/July 1st in Milton Keynes and Manchester respectively.
Japanese wrestling legend and leader of the Suzuki-Gun stable Minoru Suzuki and the returning Bullet Club member and ‘New Bone Soldier’ Taiji Ishimori will be making their way to the UK joining the already announced Tomohiro Ishii and IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada.
Fans hoping to see the likes of Kenny Omega at the shows are sadly out of luck, he confirmed recently that he will not be heading to the UK for SSE. More names are expected to be announced for the shows in the coming weeks and we will update here on the site as soon as news becomes available.
Tickets for the first Strong Style Evolved shows outside of the United States are available to purchase via the official Rev Pro website.
WWE today announced the first 8 competitors for the upcoming United Kingdom Championship tournament will which establish a Number 1 contender for Pete Dunne’s WWE UK Title. Several of the names announced for the tournament will be making their official WWE live event debuts for the company in this massive tournament, including former ICW, PROGRESS and Revolution Pro Wrestling Champions.
The 8 men announced were as follows:
Joe Coffey
Joseph Connors
Jack Gallagher
Zack Gibson
Amir Jordan
El Ligero
Dave Mastiff
Kenny Williams
Fans of the UK scene may have noticed that several of the stars included in the tournament were previously involved in the World of Sport reboot, notably Dave Mastiff who worked in the main event of the original New Years Eve special. Kenny Williams, Joe Coffey, El Ligero and Zack Gibson were also involved in the WOS reboot so it will be interesting to see how their involvement affects the planned return to ITV for the WOS project.
You can check out just some of the reaction below:
Japanese wrestling legend Hiroshi Tanahashi recently spoke to New Japan Pro Wrestling’s English Language site NJPW1972.com on the upcoming Best of the Super Juniors tournament. The former IWGP Heavyweight Champion was on hand to give his thoughts on the prestigious tournament and offer his insight on the key matches to watch.
When asked who he believed would win the tournament, he stated that Los Ingobernables’ Hiromu Takahashi would go all the way and become the eventual winner, stating that “my pick is Hiromu. When it comes to getting motivated for his matches and really making the fans happy, Hiromu is the best. There might be people that rival him on pure ability, but he has that charismatic X factor that will make him win I think.”
Tanahashi also picked his top four bouts in the A & B Blocks, with the following bouts getting the nod out of the upcoming field:
Will Ospreay vs ACH from May 20th
Sho vs Takahashi from June 2nd
El Desperado vs Takahashi from May 22nd
Taguchi vs Marty Scurll from June 2nd
New Japan’s Best of the Super Juniors begins on May 18th and Night 1 of the tournament will be available to view for free on NJPWWorld.com
